Process of making magnesium salts and ammonia.



, duced is carried off through a. suitable pipe UNITED STATES PATENT. onnrcn HENRY BLOUNT HUNTER, OF NORFOLK, VIRGINIA.

PROCESS MAKING MAGNESIUM SALTS AND AMMONIA.

N 0 Drawing.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY BLoUN'r IIUN- TER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Norfolk, Norfolk county, Virginia, have invented a certain new and useful Process for Simultaneously ll lanufacturing Soluble Magnesium Salts and Ammonia, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a process of manufacturing simultaneously Epsom salts (MgSO 'FI'I O) or other magnesium salts and ammonia (N H and has for its object to render the process of manufacturing these useful chemical bodies more expeditious, to avoid the roduction of useless side products, as has een the case in recesses heretofore employed, and to avoi the alternative diflicult process of purification by distillation or otherwise of crude ammoniacal liquor.

The recess which I have devised to accom lis these highly economic and desirable resu ts is based upon the following chemical reaction:

Manse, MgO 8H,() anfipgntleum magnesia. water.

MgSO,,7H,O ZNILOH. Epsom salts. ammonium hydrate. (NHQH NH, n 0 ammonium ammonia steam. hydrate.

or a similar reaction with ammonia salts other than the sulfate. H

In practice I mix in a closed vessel approximately molecular proportions of ammonium sulfate and magnesium oXid in a suflicient quantity of water, not only to cause a reaction but to give a working quantity of liquid, which is subsequently partially distilled oil with the ammonia. These materials are placed in an iron vessel which may or may not be rovidedjwith a stirring ap a ratus and whic is heated either by closed or open coils, or a steam jacket, or other suita le means.- The heat is applied in an in: creasing amount as the operation progresses. The reaction increases with the ap lication' of heat and the ammonia gas whic is pro connection from which it is purified, dried 1 and compressed in the usual manner. The gas that is carried off from the iron retort or generator is ammonia gas, NH This ammonia gas is allowed to go over at an increasing temperature until finally the amount of steam or Water vapor that goes over with the Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 11, 1905.

proper treatment thereof furnished Serial No. 291,338.

ammonia is so great that it is advisable, or necessary, to condense it in the form of aqua ammonia. This process is continued until there finally is left in the retort nothing but the magnesium salts in solution. This magnesium'salt solution is withdrawn from the retort or generator and then purified and the salts crystallized from it in the usual way.

It will be seen that by my process I make economic use of all the in redients em loyed in the reaction and that 5.1 of my fina prodnets are commercially valuable, and are produced in quantities sufficient to prevent an increase in price of the final products. Besides this, the contents of the generator are in solution, whereas, by the old method of using oXid of calcium, the contents consist of an insoluble calcium sulfate, which clogs the generators and constitutes a useless waste product, which must be disposed of at some expense.

In carrying out my process I use either ammonium sulfate or other salts of ammo nia, particularly ammonium chlorid. In the former case the by-product remaining in solution after the distillation of ammonia will be Epsom salts and in the latter case the final product would'be magnesium chlorid, which is of considerable commercial importance.

It will readily be seen from the above description that my invention, looking at it from the point of an accomplished fact, differs from the older process mainly in the use of magnesium oxid in the place of oXid of calcium, but this not only produces a valu-- able side product, it provides a more satisfactory working method from a physical standpoint as well. The mere working out of the reaction was a comparatively simple thing as compared to the diiliculties which I encountered in devising the process for employing the theoretically possible reaction. The selection of the proper material and the the greatest dii'liculties, which. I was finally able to overcome by using the process above described.

Having now lully disclosed my invention, what I desire to claim is:

The process of simultaneously producing ammonia and a soluble magnesium salt, which consists in mixing magnesium oxid and an ammonium salt with water, then gradually raising the temperature of the mixture,removin g ammonia gas during the first Patented Aug. 24, 1909.

stages of the operation storingit under pres- 'sure and removin gas durmg the latter stages, c'0 'n- I aqua ammoma,

g the magnesium salt solua mlxturebf steam and ammonia densing thls' mixture to for and crystallizin tion which remams after' the rel noval of the ammonia, gas and steam.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunio signed my name in the presence of two -su scribing witnesses. f

v HENRY BLOUNT HUNTER. itnesses:

HANS v. BBmsEN;

JOHN LOTKA. 

